Duo join elite club of players to have made 50 appearances for the women's First Team

It has been a double celebration for the women's First Team over the past couple of weeks, as Ella Wales-Bonner and Ceylon Hickman reached the 50 appearance mark.

Ella became just the sixth player to achieve this feat when she stepped off the bench in our recent 4-4 draw at Sutton United, before Ceylon joined her in reaching the milestone in the 5-1 win at Aylesford last time out.

Midfielder Ella has been part of the Hamlet squad since our rebranding in 2019, playing under Farouk Menia during the AFC Phoenix days, and was part of our very first matchday squad against Aylesford in the autumn of 2019.

She has continued to be an important part of the side under Ryan Dempsey, and has so far netted 11 times in her, now, 52 appearances.

Ceylon made her first team debut later in the 2019-20 season, coming off the bench in a 1-0 win against Leyton Orient in the Capital Senior Cup, before making her first start against the same opposition three days later.

The defender had already by this stage been impressing as captain in the Reserves side, and would go on to make her league debut for the first team at the start of the 2020-21 campaign.

Ceylon has proven to be a crucial part of Ryan Dempsey's side this season, being the only player to have appeared in every one of our league games, and provided one of the greatest moments of the season with her first Hamlet goal in the 2-0 victory over Ebbsfleet United in January.

The duo join Rosie Stone, Brit Saylor, Lucy Monkman, Saskia Philp and Sophie Manzi in reaching 50 games in pink and blue.

Many congratulations to both Ella and Ceylon, and here's hoping for many more appearances from you both.